Two For One
by Shax
Summary: Go ahead... Choose your point of view.


TWO FOR ONE 

Series 2 - The Three Tests   
Episode 11 

[Visit Shax's Virtual Den][1]   
[E-mail the author][2]

PROLOGUE: 

There are two or more sides to every story. 

Every story has different viewpoints, completely different opinions and amazingly different emotions connected to whatever perspective you choose to take. Sometimes you'll never know what happened in a story properly until you take a different perspective. I bring to your attention two completely different individuals, Sonic Maurice Hedgehog and Ashura Incubushi Yujiheshi. Both have different ways of thinking, different ways of acting, different methods of acheiving their different goals. But when their perspectives ultimately collide, neither will come out knowing the entire story. Luckily there is a method of looking into the minds of both of these individuals, and I present you this method now.. just you see if you don't need to look at another perspective to get the whole story.... 

CHOOSE YOUR POINT OF VIEW: 

[SONIC][3] / [ASHURA][4]

SERIES TWO CHRONOLOGY:   
1. The New Girl   
2. Dragon the Chain   
3. Never Say Nemesis   
4. When a Hedgehog Meets a Fox   
5. Just Your Imagination   
6. Shred   
7. The Death Machine   
8. Metal Made Flesh   
9. Power Corrupts   
10. Halfway Across the Galaxy   
11. Two For One   
12. Prologue to an Adventure   
13. Adventure 

CHAPTER ONE: 

From the pen of Sonic the Hedgehog, 

Dear diary,   
I'm documenting the events of the past few days as best as I can remember. The entire affair I believe began on the 15th November 1999, when Ashura came back once again. 

New Knothole was being constructed near Station Square. Man, that city is so cool! I must have spent so much time there that everybody has gotten to know me.. they greet me on the street! It has a place called Speed Highway.. it reminds me a lot about Stardust Speedway! But I'm not here to reminisce about Little Planet or SS I suppose, so I'll get back on track. I was hanging around this cave I found, after a hard day's work on building the new village, and I could see a bonfire inside. Being the curious hedgehog I am, I went inside.   
"Anybody here?" I asked. Nobody replied. Spotting a can of baked beans sitting on a rock, I picked it up to have a look. Not that I wanted to eat it or anything, I hate beans, but I just wanted to find some indication about who owned it. I had barely touched it when somebody yelled "DROP IT!". Looking around, I saw a very familiar face I would like to forget. 

Last year, he had infiltrated Knothole for the first time.. I think it was around the time Robuttnik was working on Cyber Sonic. He turned out to be evil, and very nearly wiped us all out, trying to suck our 'youth' and 'power' out with his joker's staff. Then, earlier this year, he struck again, teamed up with my evil clone twin Cinos. He and Cinos used the Negatron to one-by-one replace every Knothole villager with an evil copy. Once again, I was quite nearly killed. He was Ashura the supposed shaman. He's just as bad if not worse than Mecha Sonic, and if he owned his own city he would even surpass Robotnik. But he doesn't luckily.. he's some kind of hermit, and God only knows what the heck he was doing in that cave. Maybe I will never know. 

He obviously recognised me immediately, because he yelled out my name. "Ashura!" I said, in disbelief. Ashura pointed his staff-thing at me, and the orb on top began to glow. "I'll kill you ONCE AND FOR ALL you little RAT!" he yelled. Something shot out of the staff, and I didn't have time to dodge, so I did the only thing I could, and held up the can. Yeah, I know it was stupid, but it was the only thing I could do in the spur of the moment.. and it worked, too. There was an explosion as the beam hit the can and rebounded, and both of us were thrown back and knocked unconcious. Although we were both knocked out, there was one main difference between us:   
I woke up again.   
As for Ashura, when I came to, he was lying dead. I swear it.. I checked his body functions. The old codger finally did himself in, after years of being such an evil and energetic villain. Though he was one of my mortal enemies, I brought his body back to New Knothole for a decent burial. 

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Sally said. She stood for a few minutes, trying to think of anything good she could possibly say about the old shaman. "He... was young in his mind." she said, finally. "He was never willing to say die, and never wanted to grow old. Though he dedicated his life to black magic, he will be... uh... remembered." "You can bet on THAT." I said. I put Ashura's scepter across the grave, and walked away.   
And that was that. The rest of the day was spent working on New Knothole again, and nobody said anything else about Ashura.. but that was only the beginning. 

When I woke up the next morning, everybody was already out of bed. I walked to the door of my hut and looked outside. There was a crowd standing around something. I walked out, and tried to see what they were staring at. "Hey, what's up?" I asked. Sally turned around to face me. "Oh.. Sonic.." she said. "A villager.. he was murdered last night. Look.."   
I'm sure she could see the blood run away from my face. I pushed through the crowd to get a look. Murdered? Who could do such a thing? A million thoughts a second were going through my mind. Then I saw him. I thought for a horrible second that it was Tails.. I would quite nearly die MYSELF if my little buddy Tails was killed right in my village... but it wasn't. It was an orange fox, but an older one. With ONE tail. He just lay there.. lifeless. No pulse.   
I turned back to Sally. "How do you know it was murder?" I asked her. "Well.. let's see.." she thought for a second. "Well, there's a huge lump on his head where something hit him like a truck, and there are marks on the ground where his body was dragged here from the bushes, and not to mention the three or four witnesses who heard screaming last night and saw suspicious characters roaming around."   
I looked back at the body. What kind of sick, twisted person would MURDER a villager? I decided that nobody in the village was that horrible that they would take the life of another.. when they are fighting for FREEDOM! It must have been an outsider.. It was then that Tails approached me. "Who do you think it was, Sonic?" he asked. "I don't know, Tails." I replied. "But I intend to find out..."   
"It was a hedgehog!" somebody shouted. "A blue hedgehog! I saw him!" Sally shook her head. "I'm pretty sure the only blue hedgehog we have is Sonic." she said. "Maybe you were mistaken in the dark.." 

Later, in the afternoon, Tails and I were in my hut. Tails had brought his notebook and pen in.. any excuse to play the detective! I was sitting beside him, thinking. "It could have been Cinos!" Tails exclaimed, suddenly. I cringed at the mention of the name. Earlier the previous year, Snively shot some strange weapon at me and cloned me. The result was Cinos.. my exact likeness, but exact opposite. He was kind of like a reflection.. equal but opposite. "Why's that?" I asked Tails.   
"Well, somebody said that they saw a blue hedgehog do it!" Tails replied. "Yeah..." I replied. "That's true. And Cinos is my opposite and evil to the bone, maybe he did it for a thrill kill." I thought for a minute. "But Cinos is.. gone." I added. "I destroyed the Negatron, I don't know how he could possibly return."   
"That's true." Tails replied. He looked at his notebook, and put a big 'X' over the word 'Cinos'.   
"Mecha Sonic?" I suggested. "He's a robot, but he could be mistaken for a blue hedgehog in the dark. Mecha is ALWAYS out to get me, he's been my nemesis for years. Maybe he came here after me, couldn't find me, and that orange fox got in his way?"   
"Maybe.." Tails replied. He wrote 'Mecha' in his notebook and put a question mark beside it. "Wouldn't he take him back to Robotropolis for robotization, though?"   
"Mmmm... maybe." I replied.   
There was a long silence, then Tails said "Zero?" "Huh? Zero?" I asked.   
"Yeah.." he replied. "He's not blue, but he's a hedgehog. He kidnapped Sally one day! Maybe he came back.. we never DID find his body at the bottom of the cliff, you know."   
"Yeah, he's probably out there somewhere.." I replied. "Put him down as a possibility, anyway." I continued thinking. "Who else is there?" Tails asked. "Nack the Weasil." I suggested.   
"Huh? Who's that?" Tails asked. "I've met him once, and so did Sally." I replied. "He's the guy who stole the Chaos Emeralds. He's a sneaky one, and he's VERY trigger-happy. I'm sure he could end up killing somebody..."   
"But the cause of death was a blow on the head!" Tails reminded him. "Oh yeah..." I replied. "It probably wasn't Nack, then."   
"Could be Shred." Tails suggested then. "He's into mindless killing and all that! Remember when he came to Mobius? Shax had to hold him back from killing us ALL!"   
"Yeah, but he's more likely to EAT the poor guy.." I replied. Tails nodded. "Hey Sonic.." he said, "Mind if I crash here for the night?"   
"What's wrong, kinda scared?" I taunted him a little. He just looked at me sarcastically. "Sure thing, little bro!" I said, at last. "Go ahead.. I got an extra matress here somewhere."   
"Thanks, Sonic." he replied, smiling. Suddenly, he looked in the corner, as if something was irritating him. "Sonic, what's that glow?" he asked. I followed his gaze to the corner of my hut. Glow? I had nothing glowing in my hut! At least, nothing I knew of! I walked over to where he was staring, and had a closer look. There was a sparking glow between a wall and a cabinet.. I reached in, and grabbed whatever it was. After dragging it out, it took me quite a while to realise what it was.. but even then I didn't believe it. The object was made of wood, and it was about a metre long. At the top, was carved into the shape of a bird's talon or some kind of claw, and the claw was holding a glassy, mystical looking orb. I stared at it, hypnotized. I recognised it... but how? HOW? I had put this next to Ashura's grave! But here it was, in my very own hut. 

This was Ashura's scepter. 

CHAPTER TWO: 

"What's that, Sonic?" Tails asked. I almost dropped it.. I was a little jumpy. "It's Ashura's.. thing!" I replied.   
"I thought you put that on his grave!" Tails replied.   
"I did!" I replied. "Or at least I thought I did! I must not have, if it's here!"   
"That thing creeps me out, Sonic." Tails complained.   
"Me too." I replied. I chucked it out an open window, and began to pull out a matress for my friend to sleep on. "I'll collect it again in the morning.. get rid of it." I promised. We both got into bed, and I blew out the candle. 

*** 

When I woke up, Tails was gone. 

At first I thought he had walked outside, but then I noticed the muddy footprints.. NOT from his shoes.. that went from his bed to the open door. I jumped up, and stumbled across the room. When I got out of bed, something landed on the ground with a thump. I took a moment to look... 

The scepter again. IT WAS IN MY BED! 

This was insanely creepy, but my mind was more focused on Tails' disappearance. I bolted out the door, and almost ran into Sally, who was walking past. "Whoa, Sonic!" she exclaimed. "What's the rush?" I explained to her that Tails had disappeared, and about the footprints, and by the end, she had a look of concern on her face.   
"Oh my gosh.." she muttered. "Maybe he's gone for a walk or something?"   
"Those footprints didn't look like his, Sal!" I replied. "And how would he suddenly get MUD on his feet while in my hut?"   
Sally shook her head. "We'll send out a search party or something." she said.   
That's when Knuckles approached. "I just heard the news." he said. His sudden appearance made us both jump. He had a hard expression on his face. "I knew that guy." he said. "The guy who was murdered, I mean. We were talking just a few weeks ago... do you know who did it?"   
Sally regained her composure. "No we don't.." she replied. "It has us baffled."   
"Me an' Tails have ruled out quite a few suspects.. we think it could have been Mecha or Zero, but both seem unlikely.."   
"Or it could have been an 'inside job'." Knux replied. He was trying to avoid eye contact with me. For some reason, in the weeks after we travelled to Kha, he didn't seem to want to talk directly to me... he seemed kind of angry at me. He probably thinks I'm partly responsible for him not being able to rescue his ancestors.. And I'm pretty sure that the warning to "keep my hands off his island, emerald and ancestors" still stands.   
"What do you mean?" Sally asked him. He shrugged. "I'm just saying that anybody in this village could have done it!" he said.   
I tried to restrain from frowning. He didn't say it, but I know what he was implying... he was thinking I did it. After all, I doubt he believes I ever recovered from the hyper-neutrino. But it was absurd to think that I could have killed somebody! First of all, I knew myself that I DIDN'T! And secondly, sure the witnesses THOUGHT they saw a blue hedgehog, but it was dark, and they could have been mistaken! But nobody else really believed that the killer was me..... did they? 

So, that's how I got tangled up in a seach party. 

To prove how desperately I wanted to get Tails back, I joined the Tails search party. But it wasn't just to clear my name, by no means - I really DID want Tails back. I was so angry at the creep who kidnapped him.. RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE! The team of me, Sage, and about fourteen villagers I didn't know, walked through the forest all day. There was no sign of Tails, which upset me. What if the murderer had killed again? What if we went back to New Knothole and found everybody crowded around TAILS' dead body?   
"Let's make camp here." somebody said.   
I yawned. I had been walking all day, and I couldn't deny that I was tired. There was another feeling, too.... while a part of me was asleep, another part seemed to be just waking up...... the time escaped me, and before long I was inside my tent, and dozing off. 

CHAPTER THREE: 

I had a dream that night. 

I dreamed that I was standing inside a circle of flames. One of my hands was raised above my head, holding something I couldn't identify. The other hand was holding a strange book. On the ground, also inside the circle, was the body of the dead Ashura. I was screaming things at it.. like I was preaching at it or exorcising it or something. Nonsense words, like "nil fro fwap ching" or something to that effect. The body just lay there, motionless. Then I fell over, and the dream ended abruptly. I still do not know the purpose of such a weird dream... 

When I woke up, everyone had abandoned me. 

The entire camp... nobody was around. They even took the very tent that I was sleeping in! They took everything! I just lay on the ground, dazed and confused, alone in the forest. I got up, and looked for any sign of the other search party members.. even for a NOTE or something. They left nothing. Confused, I made my way back to New Knothole. 

There was a commotion when I arrived. Everybody crowded around... my first thought was that the killer had killed again. It looked just the same as when we had found the orange fox dead the last time. I walked up to the crowd, and noticed Sage was standing there. I tapped him on the shoulder. "What's happened?" I asked. He turned around, and jumped a little when he saw me. "THERE HE IS!" he shouted, pointing accusedly at me. The crowd made gasping noises, and began to surround me. I was surprised... "What's wrong?" I asked. Somebody walked up to me nervously and put his wrist on my forehead, as if taking my temperature. "What are you doing? I'm not sick!" I protested. "Sonic, why did you attack the search party?" Sally asked, stepping foward. "WHAT?" I demanded. "I didn't! They ABANDONED me!" Sally's accusation was rediculous.   
"They came back to New Knothole terrified!" Sally said. "They said you attacked them..." "I DID NOT!" I protested again. I looked to my left and saw Knuckles step foward. "We've pieced it all together, Sonic." he said. "I don't know what's happened to you, but you've chased Tails away, and we can't even erase you as a murder suspect for that fox!"   
_Chased Tails away?_   
"I didn't chase Tails away and you know it!" I retalliated. "He was OBVIOUSLY taken, I can't believe you can overlook the evidence and accuse me!" I was almost cold towards the echidna, now. "We're not overlooking ANYTHING!" Knux replied. "In fact, all the evidence POINTS to you!"   
"NO!" I yelled. "The footprints....!"   
"The footprints..... are YOURS, Sonic!" Sally reported.   
"But... but... where... the mud?" I spluttered out. I bolted through the crowd blockade, and pushed a couple of people over. I broke through and ran to my hut. I almost collided with the door, before I twisted the knob and fell onto the floor. I came face to face with one of the muddy footprints belonging to Tails' kidnapper. I immediately noticed something I had strangely overlooked before. The footprints were not facing the door, as if somebody took Tails and walked out.... they were facing towards MY BED, as if from someone returning from the forest. I grabbed one of my shoes and pulled it off. 

The treads matched. 

Even though I knew I hadn't done it... I was framed so well that nobody would believe me. To them, I would never be anything more than a killer and a psycho. 

I heard a great noise from the villagers outside, as if something had swayed their attention from accusing me. I looked outside, and saw a familiar figure running into the village. Suddenly, all my fears were gone. I was so happy I could have cried! It was Tails! He was alive! Not only was my best friend safe and sound, but he would also ensure MY safety! After all, he was the only one who knew the identity of the person who REALLY kidnapped him.. he could clear my name! I was so happy he was alive... I burst out of my hut and ran towards the fox, who looked equally relieved. But when he saw me, his smile faded, and he dug his heels into the ground so hard he fell on his butt. "NO!" he yelled, frantically picking himself up. "No, SONIC! GET AWAY FROM ME!" he yelled. Sally ran to comfort him. 

My best friend even believed I had turned bad. The only one who could clear my name... NOBODY would believe me now. 

"Tails!" I spluttered. "Tails.. it's me! Please... I did nothing wrong!" The fox gulped, and walked up to me. "Look at me.." he pleaded. I bent down slightly, to his level, and looked into his eyes. After a while, a grin spread across his face, and he grabbed me and hugged me. "Sonic.. you're back!" he said. "Thank God you're back!" "He's....back?" Sally asked, raising an eyebrow. I was just as confused. Tails turned around to the villagers. "Sonic didn't do anything bad." he reported. "I mean... he did, but it wasn't his fault, something was up."   
"Tails... what was 'up'?" Sally asked.   
"He was bewitched, or something!" Tails reported. "I saw it in his eyes... When he attacked me, it wasn't him inside."   
So I HAD attacked Tails? Had I killed that villager as well? Had I attacked the search party?   
"How is any of that possible?" Sally asked. "Who could do anything to Sonic to make him do things he has no control over?"   
Tails crossed his arms. "Has anybody checked Ashura's grave lately?" he asked. 

*** 

Empty. 

"Ashura DUG HIMSELF out of his coffin AND grave?" Sally asked, almost fainting with shock. But there it was... am empty grave. A big hole in the ground in front of the tombstone.   
"I FOUND THE COFFIN!" Somebody shouted nearby, dragging a big box out of the bushes. It was also empty.   
"He's pretty powerful.." I said, shocked. 

I don't think there's one person in New Knothole who can come up with an adequite theory about what happened. All I can say myself is that, if I really did do those terrible things, it was not on purpose, I can't even remember doing them. And I'm pretty sure Sally and most of the villagers agree, after seeing the empty grave... they know what Ashura is capable of. Knuckles is probably the most skeptical of the lot, but he'll get over it. As for my opinion, I think there are a lot of questions that will remain unanswered... I dunno if I'll ever find out the truth. How had Ashura lived, after I was sure he was dead? How, and WHY, had he forced me to do all those horrible things? Why did his scepter keep appearing everywhere, almost like it was haunting me? All I know is that I had led a secret night life for the last few days.. even secret from MYSELF. As far as I know, I haven't done anything like that since. Has Ashura had his fun and moved on? I sure hope so. I still lock the door at night, not that it would stop me from opening it, the lock being on the inside... I guess I'm still learning to trust myself again. 

19th November 1999 

SONIC HEDGEHOG 

* * *

CHAPTER ONE: 

Greetings, to whomever has the good fortune to look apon this document. 

I am Ashura, the greatest, most powerful shaman on the realm of Mobius. My life is a nomadic one, I survive by travelling from place to place, sucking out the very youth from people like a vampire. Many call me evil.. I do not associate myself with evil. I merely do what I must do to survive. It is the proverbial law of the jungle.. a "dog eat dog world". Many have accused me of taking innocent lives to feed my urge to remain youthful.. and perhaps they are quite correct. But is it a crime? Is the mighty tiger banished from the jungle when it attacks a helpless doe? I am within my rights as a superior to take my prey when I feel the hunger. And if there is a power chain to accompany the food chain, I am beyond a doubt on or near the top. No, I do not consider my activities a crime.. I do not consider my mental alignment as evil. I do not enjoy killing, I simply do what I must to survive, and if murdering a fellow Mobian is what it takes I will not hesitate. 

Sonic. I hate the word. As I hate Hell. (That is taken from the book of Shakespere for those ignorant among you.) Sonic, I must admit, has been a worthy opponent for me. I could definately destroy him with but a wave of my staff, however, I am sure of it. Luck always intervenes, however, whether it be in the form of an armour-clad opossom or the bumbling idiocy of a moronic so-called "ally". The first matter took place in the Spring of 1998, when an opossum named Sparkster barely rescued Sonic from having his youth sucked away. The second matter was the summer of this year, when an ally of mine, Cinos, botched up his own plan and mine, got himself destroyed and nearly destroyed me in the process. Of course, I always pull through.. I always survive. Both instances left me whittled away to my true age of seventy-one (although I have recently crossed over to seventy-two.) 

The series of events I would like to document began in early November, 1999. I had been preying on Mobians now and then, gathering their life energy, but I did not come across anybody powerful enough to suit my needs to their full extent. I had conjured a physical age of about fifty-five, but I needed more youth.. more power.. MUCH more power.. to cheat death entirely for a while longer. That was when I recieved the image. 

From time to time, I am given images of devistating Mobian events, which are displayed to me via my staff. Usually, there is a volcano or earthquake overseas, killing thousands, and is no interest to me. However, this time, it was a very powerful image of a detrimental and EXTREMELY POWERFUL event which was going to unfold very nearby, in the city of Station Square. I am not certain as to the nature of this event, but I did know one thing - I wanted to be there when it happened. 

I left my shack in the forest, taking a few essential items with me, and headed towards the city. Travelling for several days, I got to thinking. I had never been to Station Square.. it was apparently heavily populated. I thought perhaps I could pick up a few young souls during my stay. I was extremely interested as to what the event in question would be.. there was no volcano nearby, no faultlines.. the town was immune to natural disasters, yet this one appeared to be off the scale compared to other events I have been informed of. As I pondered this, I came across a cave in the forest. Night was falling, and I thought it appropriate that I should stay the night. 

I set a bonfire in the small cave, and unpacked my belongings. There were a few spiritual items, some empowered stones, a few candles, a few cans of factory manufactured food and a can opener, and a spoon, some water.. things like that. I settled down promptly with a can of creamed corn, and began to endulge in it. It only took a few sparks from my scepter, and it was cooked, hot and ready for eating. 

That stick is a marvellous piece of work. I am quite a sculptor, if I do say so myself. And the orb on top, forged from emerald, is my proverbial pride and joy. I had only began to eat my disgustingly badly packaged dinner, when the orb began to notify me that someone was invading my personal space. I got up from my bonfire, and checked the orb. I could see an image in it.. walking towards me. It seemed close, in fact. Very close. So close, that when I looked up, I could see it. Right in front of me. Sonic the Hedgehog. He hadn't seen me, apparently, he was in the cave, looking around. He spotted my dinner, the can of creamed corn, and picked it up. He was going to eat it! That was JUST the kind of underhanded action that little scum would take. I practically leaped towards him from the shadows, grasping my wand, and yelled for him to drop it. When he saw me, the little spineless creature hid himself behind the can, stammering "Ashura!!". He knew that I was more powerful than he... he didn't stand a chance before me. He was practically begging me to destroy him rather than put him through torture.. I could see it in his eyes. I laughed at him.. I decided that I would be leniant and put him out of his misery. "I'll kill you once and for all, you little rat!" I said, aiming my scepter at him. He whimpered when I shot a standard soul disrupting beam at him. It would tear his soul from his body, and disintegrate it. Painful, but I could do worse. 

Unfortunately, luck once again intervened on his behalf, in the form of the very manufactured food can he was holding up. Now, it's very rare that anything like this could happen, but on this occasion it did nonetheless. The beam actually bounced off the can in part, and hit me on the face. I could feel myself leaving my body.. but it wasn't the entire beam that hit me. The spell was incomplete, and my soul was not destroyed. Instead, I floated higher and higher.. then suddenly I was ripped out of the spirit world, back into reality, and thrown head over heels with such a force that I blacked out completely. 

The next thing I remember, it was nighttime. I was in bed. 

The first thing I noticed apon awakening was that the bed was not my own. I was inside some kind of a dwelling that was not my own, in a place that was foreign to me. I picked myself out of bed, and began to walk around, trying to figure out where I was.. where the hedgehog had taken me. I left the small hut or shack I was in, and began to explore. It was a village.. the little shacks were everywhere. I was surprised that the hedgehog and his people were stupid enough to leave me unguarded. I was aware of his inferiority, but was unaware he was completely STUPID. You learn something new every day. First things first, I decided I would locate my staff. I concentrated on tracing its power... yes... it beckoned me from the south. I began to head in that direction. It was apparently in the open, because the further I travelled, the less huts surrounded me, and eventually I was completely out of the village and in the forest. I was also completely in the dark. With only my senses to guide me, I continued to trace the power of my staff. I began to run. I was amazingly fast.. so energetic! The day before I was simply too aged to do strenuous activities, but tonight I felt so young! So wonderfully young! Younger than I had ever been! I also discovered to my dismay that I was freezing. Sonic must have taken my shaman's robes, I decided. I felt my skin, and I was completely un-clad. I ran through the forest, and that is when I tripped over and went flying. 

I was running through a clearing, so I hadn't expected to be tripped. I hit the ground, and my staff and orb rolled to a stop, beside me. Delighted to find my posession once again, I picked it up, and headed back to see what I had tripped over. I found that it was a grave. Who would be buried out here, I wondered? I shone the weak glow from my scepter on the headstone. 

"Ashura: Last name unknown. Defeated by his own craving for power, November 15th 1999. May his soul rest in peace." 

"Yujiheshi!" I growled in annoyance. "My last name is Yujiheshi!" It was only then that I realised something was wrong with this picture. My name was on a headstone. The grave was not empty. How was this possible? I looked down at my bare skin. All the pieces came together then and there. For, I had not noticed in the dark of the night, but to my great shock, I noticed now. Oh how I noticed. 

I was not Ashura any more. 

I was Sonic the Hedgehog. 

CHAPTER TWO: 

To say this puzzled me would be an understatement. But here I was.. my blue skin, red shoes, youthful agility.. I WAS my enemy, through and through. My vision turned to the grave again.. How did this happen? I had no idea.. but I wanted my body back. Setting down my scepter, I began to dig. With my hands. The combined speed of this body and the shallowness of the grave meant it wasn't long before I hit the casket. Grabbing a handle, with a grunt, I pulled it out of the ground. It was such a pathetic little coffin! Such a superior being such as I obviously deserves something better than double-ply chipboard with rusty iron hinges. Although, I suppose it is the only thing these nomadic villagers had time to bang up in the couple of days between the time Sonic brought me there and the time by body began to rot. 

_Began to rot._

What if my body began to rot before I could properly transport my soul back into it? I flung the coffin open, and there I was... limp and lifeless inside. I took my scepter in my teeth, grabbed my body by the feet, and dragged it from the coffin. Where would I put it? I stopped to think for a minute, gazing into my orb.. I heard a voice behind me. "Hey, what are you doing?" it asked. "You're Sonic, right? You came back with that body, why'd you dig it back up again?"   
"Don't worry! Forget about it, go away!" I commanded.   
"You're not supposed to be here!" the voice complained. "I'm gonna tell Sally that you're doing this?"   
In my current state of irritation and anger, the whining villager sent me over the edge. "SILENCE!!" I yelled, and swung around, using my scepter like a bat for some kind of ball game. The wand made a loud crack as it came in contact with the stranger's skull, and he went down screaming... then fell silent. I let out a long sigh when I saw what I had done. One swift moment, and now I was way over my head with TWO dead bodies to deal with. Raising my scepter, I quickly muttered a spell of conservation so that my soulless body wouldn't rot or go into rigor mortis or anything similar. It wasn't permanant, but it would have to do. Then I stuffed the body into a hollow tree trunk, carefully so as not to damage myself, and then turned to my recent victim, a tall orange fox. Could I just leave him there? No.. I would drag him back to the village, maybe it would convince others not to be so stupid. I grabbed the bleeding body and dragged it. 

Right in the center of the village is where I left him, then I concentrated on other things. If I looked like Sonic now, perhaps I should ACT like Sonic until I could switch my mind back into my own head.. just to prevent suspicion. Besides, I did not know any soul switching spells, but I did know how I could find out - my book. I had brought my tome with me into the cave, along with other items. But I had no idea where the hedgehog had taken it when he thought I was dead. It wasn't with my grave, like my scepter was. I thought I could hear villagers moving about.. perhaps spying on me.. so I turned and walked away from what I had done, towards the hut I had awoken in. Apon entering the hut, I decided to hide my scepter between a piece of furnature and the wall.. then I slumped on the bed, and soon enough went to sleep. 

*** 

I woke up again. Night time. I looked about myself.. had I even gone to sleep at all? I expected it to be morning. This was strange.. a breeze floated around the room from an open window. The night I woke up in this body, that window had been SHUT. A few other small details had changed also, as my keen senses let me know, including the fact that SOMEONE ELSE WAS IN THE ROOM. On a small bed, on the floor. An orange fox. I suddenly thought that my shameless deed earlier had somehow come back to haunt me, but then I realised that it wasn't the same fox. This one was younger. A memory of that young face came back to me.. If my memory served me correctly, this was Tails, one of Sonic's most trusted friends. I had no knowledge of how he had entered without my noticing, but this was as good a chance as any to find out where my book was. I got out of bed, onto my knees, and poked the fox hard. "Tails!" I exclaimed, in Sonic's voice. The fox twitched, and opened his eyes.   
"You woke me up, Sonic!" he said. "What's wrong, can't you sleep?"   
"Uh, no Tails, I can't." I lied. "Tails, did you see me when I carried Ashura's body into this village?"   
"Yeah.. kinda creepy." he replied.   
"Did you perchance happen to notice if I had in my posession a book, at that time?" I asked. The fox took a while to decipher what I had said, then shook his head 'no'. This irritated me.. I was sure the hedgehog would have tried to steal my posessions, given half the chance. "Tails, THINK." I commanded. "I cannot recall where I put that book, this is very important."   
"Sonic, I dunno about any book!" the fox replied.   
Lies.   
"Don't toy with me, fox." I threatened. At that, he shot up. "Sonic, what's the matter with you?" he asked. "I don't know about any book, I'm sure you didn't bring one!"   
"WHERE DID SONIC PUT THE BOOK?" I interrogated, faltering out of character. I walked over to the cupboard I had slipped the scepter beside, and looked in the space. The scepter was gone also. I shot the frightened fox a piercing look. "Tails..." I rasped. "The book and the scepter are gone... did you take them? DID YOU TAKE THEM??"   
The little fox looked terrified, now. Goes to show that I am intimidating in any form. "S..Sonic, YOU threw the scepter away! And I don't know of any book!"   
Why would I throw my scepter, my most prized of all posessions, away? His lies made my furious, and I lunged at him. He ran, and I missed. He threw open the door, and ran outside, and I lunged in hot persuit. I was superior to him in speed, but he had the advantage with agility. I'd catch up to him, and he'd suddenly take a ninety degree angle turn away from me. It wasn't long before I was chasing him through the forest.. whizzing past trees. I had to catch him.. I just HAD to find out what happened to my belongings. Eventually, I got the jump on him, and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He turned, fearfully, to face me, and for a few minutes he just stared into my eyes. "You're... not Sonic!" he said, at last.   
"Yes that is right!" I replied. "Luckily, I am NOT Sonic.. I am someone much more powerful and superior. Now, tell me what you have done with the book and the scepter!"   
"You tell ME what you've done with Sonic!" the fox retorted.. I wondered where the sudden bravery had come from.   
"There is no Sonic any more.." I replied. "Only ME! Now, answer my questions, little fox, or I shall..."   
I didn't finish my sentance before he twisted around, broke my grip on his fur, spun his tails and flew above the bounds of my reach. I forgot that this fox had the power of flight. I watched him fly away, and realised that he probably wouldn't be returning in any terrible hurry, if at all. I frowned, and walked back towards the village.   
I did find my scepter... it was under the window of Sonic's hut, in a tuft of pampas grass. I picked it up, kicked off my shoes and went to bed again. The next day, I decided, I would get out of that wretched body once and for all. But it wasn't to be easy. 

CHAPTER THREE: 

When I woke up, I was no longer in the village. I was no longer anywhere I recognised. I was in a tent somewhere.   
"WHAT?" I yelled, not expecting a reply, but rather, in my fury after realising that even with my superior intellect I failed to decipher what was happening. It was still nighttime. It was dark outside again, and had been dark the last two times I awoke in this body..... which, being in this body, was strange enough in itself. I grabbed for my scepter.. I didn't particularly expect it to be there, and it wasn't, but it was more out of habit than anything. I stood up, only to find that the tent was small and cramped, and I fell over. I growled and writhed around in the dark, trying to get out of my situation. I found the zipper of the tent, and tore it open so hard that I popped the zipper. Outside, other Mobians were around, looking at me. I must have had quite a scary expression, because they backed away on sight. I approached them. "Where..... am...... I?" I asked, very clearly so as to avoid any confusion as to what answer I required.   
"The search party!" Someone replied.   
Search party?   
"Right then." I replied. "I only wish to know one thing. WHERE DID SONIC PUT MY BOOK?" I demanded.   
"But YOU are Sonic!" someone protested.   
"DO NOT TRY MY PATIENCE, INFIDELS!" I screeched at them. They jumped back. I do so love being intimidating. "Sonic, or SOMEBODY, moved my book!" I said. "Either that, or it was left in the cave! The book of Ashura! I NEED IT, YOU IDIOTS! Don't make me kill you!"   
Some of them cowered, others assumed a pathetic fighting stance.   
Nobody came back to Knothole with no book!" somebody said, at last.   
"Right!" I said. "So the little imbecile left my posessions alone? Then I must return to the cave!" I said. I had a rough idea of the cave's position relative to the hedgehog's village, so all I needed was my position. I eyed a map that one of the Mobians was holding. Angrily, I snatched it off him, and looked at it, much to their protests. YES! The camp site was labelled! I gave them an angry glance, and then shot off in the direction of the village. 

First things first, I needed my scepter back. This was acheived by a few minutes searching Sonic's hut. I grabbed my posession, and then shot off again. This hedgehog's speed was fantastic! I felt like I could easily hit the speed of sound... but I conserved my energy.   
I found the grave site, and the tree hollow that I had stuffed my body into. It was still there, luckily. But the conservation spell was wearing off. I grabbed the body and headed towards the cave where this whole mess had started. 

It took me two hours to locate the place. And, in the dark, it took an additional hour to locate my backpack. Yes, it was in there. After a long time assuming Sonic had stolen it, it turned out to be just where I had left it. This irritated me, but at least I had found my posession. I dug around in my pack. Yes, the book was inside! I also found some matches and other things. I heaped them together, grabbed my body, and walked back into the forest, looking for a space large enough to perform the ritual.. 

It was another hour later.. around midnight. I placed my body on the ground, in the center of a circle of flames, and began to search through the book. The ancient scriptures appeared familiar as I raised my right hand in the air, holding my scepter as a power source.   
"Transport me from this worn out shell!" I commanded. "Feel the power of this spell! Free my soul from out this home, by the commandment of this ancient tome! Anno mach nis fil mred fro! Into a new body my soul shall go! Anno mach nis fil mred fro! INTO A NEW BODY MY SOUL SHALL GO!" 

My scepter flowed power through my body, and through the book.... I felt myself lifting up... Sonic's body fell over, but I continued to rise. Suddenly, I was ripped into reality, and sat up, gasping. I immediately checked myself over. Success! I was in my own body once again! I walked over to the body of my pitiful enemy, Sonic the Hedgehog. I was not sure, and still am not sure, whether or not the spell killed him. I bent over, and pried my scepter and book from his grip. Smiling, I walked back to the cave. 

The ordeal was over, and I came out knowing no more than what I went in with. I began my journey again to observe the upcoming Station Square disaster from afar. As morning approached, the sun rose again.. seemingly the first sign of the sun I had seen in three days. Everything was back to normal, although so many questions remained unanswered. Why had the sky been in darkness all the time I was in the wrong body? Why did my location change constantly while I was asleep? Did Sonic survive the ordeal? Those questions and more are things I probably will never know the answer to. I am not worried... strange things are just a part of my every day life. 

The story is over, there is no more of interest to tell. 

ASHURA YUJIHESHI

   [1]: http://www.stas.net/1/shax/Virtualden.html
   [2]: mailto:Shaxr@angelfire.com
   [3]: #Sonic
   [4]: #Ashura



End file.
